Mobile crane and pile driver construction



Get. 11, 1960 E. w. TAYLOR, JR

MOBILE CRANE AND ms DRIVER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 21, 1958 INVENTOR. ERNEST W. TAYLOR JR.

ATTORNEYS NM hm 1 Ernest W. Taylor,

MOBILE CRANE AND PILE DRIVER CONSTRUCTION Jr., Bay City, Mich., assignor to Industrial Brownhoist Corporation, Bay City, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. '21, 1958, Ser. No. 716,633 2 Claims. (Cl. 61- 74) This invention relates to mobile crane constructions and more particularly to a combined crane and pile driver assembly in which the pile driver assembly is quickly foldable with the crane boom so as to permit the pile driver assembly to be swung rapidly from pile driving position to a lower, substantially horizontal position, and return, thereby permitting the crane carrier to be moved to and from its working location in minimum time and with little additional efiort.

Crane constructions of the kind with which the invention is concerned frequently are used in maintaining railroads. In order not to disrupt railroad trafiic, pile driving operations can be performed only during the intervals between trains. Thus, only limited time is available to set up and Operate a pile driver inasmuch as the carrier must be moved to a siding or spur in order to clear the track for trains. In many constructions in use heretofore, so much time was required to set up and dismantle the pile driving assembly that very little time was available for pile driving operations. Moreover, in many of the prior constructions a crew was required to effect the setting up and dismantling of the pile driver assembly. As a consequence, the use of such prior constructions was inefiicient and expensive.

The assignee of the instant invention has produced a combination crane and pile driver construction in which the pile driver assembly is quickly and easily foldable with the crane boom so as to overcome the objections of previously known constructions. The kind of combination crane and pile driver construction to which reference is made is disclosed and claimed in oo-pending application Serial No. 356,504, filed May 21, 1953, and now Patent No. 2,827,722. The instant invention is similar in many respects to the construction disclosed in the aforementioned application, but differs from the latter in several respects which will become apparent as the description proceeds.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved combination crane and pile driver unit in which the pile driver leader is so secured to and supported by the crane boom as to permit it to be folded with the latter and lowered automatically with the boom to enable the unit to be moved from place to place without undue delay.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved combination crane and pile driver construction in which the pile driver assembly can be conditioned for pile driving operations or for movement from place to place without necessitating the presence of a crew of workmen.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in detail or will become apparent from the following description when it is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a mobile crane and pile driverassem'bly constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, view of a portion of the and 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevation-a1 view of the apparatus front elevational structure shown in Figures 1 shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 3.

A substantially conventional railroad crane is designated generally by the reference character 1 and comprises a car or carrier 2 equipped with conventional railroad wheels 3 adapted to roll upon rails 4. A conventional turntable member 5 is mounted on the platform 2 and includes a base 6 on which is mounted a cab 7. Also supported on the base part 6 of the turntable 5 in any conventional manner is a pair of A-frames 8 or the like of conventional construction. One end of a boom member 9 is pivotally mounted as at 10 on the turntable member 5 in a conventional manner so as to enable the boom to swing from and to raised and lowered positions. The other or outer end of the boom has fixed thereto as at 11 one end of a cable or rope 12, the other end of the rope being fixed to one of the sheaves 13 of a block and tackle device 14. The turn buckle device includes another sheave 15 journaled on the A-frames 8 and reeved around the sheaves 13 and 15 in a conventional manner is a rope or cable 16 which is connected to a rotatable hoisting drum 17, by means of which the boom 9 is raised and lowered.

A pile driver assembly constructed in accordance with the invention is adapted to be used in conjunction with the crane 1 and comprises a pile driver leader element 18, a hanger element 19, a strut element 20, and means such as a cable or rope 21 for effecting swinging movements of the leader and consequent folding and unfolding movements of the pile driver assembly relative to the boom.

The leader element 18 preferably comprises a pair of spaced apart, substantially parallel rails 22 adapted to guide a conventional pile driver hammer (not shown),

the rails being maintained in parallelism by suitable longitudinal and lateral reinforcing members 23 and 24, respectively. The hammer may be raised and lowered by' means of a line 25 having one of its ends connected in a conventional manner to the hammer and its other end secured to a hoisting drum 26 journ-aled on the plat form 5.

The hanger element 19 comprises a substantially U-shaped frame composed of parallel side members 27 secured to one another by a top bar 28 and by reinforcing members 29. As is best shown in Figure 5, the top bar 23 is slotted as at 30 for reception of a mounting member 31 which is bifurcated to form two parallel leg portions 32 between which is received an extension 9a of the boom. The mounting member 31 and the top bar 28 are provided with aligned openings for reception of a pin 33 by means of which the mounting member 31 is swingably connected to the hanger element 19. The legs 32 also are provided with openings and a corresponding opening is provided in the boom extension 911 for reception of a pin 34 by means of which the mounting member 31' and, consequently, the hanger element 19 are swingably connected to the boom member 9 for swinging movements about an axis which is at right angles to the axis of swinging movement of the hanger element and the mounting member 31. The arrangement of 31 is such that the hanger element is capable of substantially universal swinging movement relative to the boom 9.

At the outer end of the boom member 9 is rotatably Patented Oct. 11, 1960 journaled a sheave 35 over which the hammer line 25 is reeved and, if desired, guide pulleys 36 may be mounted on the reinforcing bars 29 for the purpose of guiding the hammer line to the hammer.

The leader 18 is swingably connected; to the hanger 19 by means ofpins 37 which extend through aligned openings in the hanger frame members 27 and the leader frame members 22, the arrangement being such that the leader element is swingably connected adjacent to its upper end to the lower end of the hanger element 19, asthe parts are arranged in Figures 1 and 2.

In the disclosed embodiment of the invention the boom member 9 is provided with a forwardly extending projection 38 adjacent to its lower pivoted end on which is swingably secured by means of a pin 39 one end of the rigid strut element 20. The strut element could be pivoted to the base member 6 of the turntable 5, if desired, between the frame elements forming the boom member 9. The other end of the strut element 20 is pivoted as at- 41 to a slide element 42 which, in turn, is slideably received in a slideway 43 fixed by means such as bolts 40 on a support 40a welded or otherwise secured adjacent to the lower end of the leader element 18. The construction and arrangement of the strut element 20 and its associated parts are such that the leader element is capable of swinging movement from side to side, as is indicated by the chain lines in Figure 2, as is customary in the art.

The construction and arrangement of the parts are such that, in pile driving positions, the hanger 19 and the leader 18 are so suspended from the boom that the two elements are located in the same general plane in marked contrast to the arrangement of the corresponding elements in the above identified co-pending application. Consequently, it would not be possible to effect folding movements of the pile driver elements by effecting movement of the strut 20.

The means for effecting folding movement of the pile driver assembly with the boom member 9 of the present construction preferably comprises the cable 21 fixed at one of its ends to an anchor post 45 located adjacent to the lower end of the leader element 18. The other end of the cable 21 may be fixed to the A,-frame 8 or to a winch (not shown) supported by the turntable member 5. The intermediate portion of the cable 21 preferably is reeved over a sheave 46 which is journaled on a shaft 47 fixed to the boom member 9.

Assuming the boom and pile driver assembly are in pile driving positions, that is, the positions of the parts shown in full lines in Figure 1, and assuming further that it is necessary to fold the pile driver assembly with the boom and lower the-latter to enable the apparatus to pass under a bridge or the like, the hoisting drum 17 may be actuated to permit the boom to lower in a clockwise position, as viewed in Figure 1, whereupon the sheave 46 on the boom 9 will be swung clockwise in an arc having its center at the pivot point 10 of the boom. The swinging of the sheave 46 in a clockwise direction will shorten the distance between the sheave and the anchor post 45 on the leader element 18, whereby the cable 21 will exert a force on the lower end of the leader element 18 tending to swing the leader in a clockwise direction about the axis of the pivot pin 41. Swinging of the leader 18 clockwise about the axis of the pivot pin 41 will cause the upper end of the leader to swing away from the boom about the pivot pins 37 and will cause the hanger element 19 to be swung in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot pin 34, thereby locating the leader and the hanger at an angle to each other. Continued lowering movement of the boom 9 and, consequently, continued clockwise swinging of the sheave 46 will cause further shortening of the distance between the sheave 46 and the anchor post 45 and further swinging of the leader 13 about the pivot post 41. Eventually, the boom 9"a11d the lower end of the leader element 18 will be swung to such positions that the portion of the cable 21 between the sheave 46 and the post 45 is in a substantially vertical position, at which position a lifting force is exerted on the lower end of the leader so as to effect counterclockwise swinging of the strut element 20 about its pivot post 39;, The lifting force on the leader 18 also will be transmitted to the hanger element 19 so as to cause further counterclockwise swinging of the latter about the pin 34. When the boom 9 has been lowered toa position in which no part of the latter projects above the A-frame 8, the. leader element 18, the hanger element 19, and the strut element 20 will have been swung to. such positions that the leader element 19 is located in a folded position in which it is substantially parallel with the boom member" 9, as is indicated in the chain line showing in Figure 1. In these positions of the parts the apparatus is capable of passing under any overhead obstruction having sufficient clearance to pass the cab 7.

When it is desired to return the pile driver assembly to its pile driving position, the hoisting drum 17 may be actuated to swing the boom 9 counterclockwise about its pivot 10, whereupon the elements 18, 19 and 20 will be swung by gravity, as permitted by the cable 21, to the positions indicated in full lines in Figure 1. In order to prevent the elements 18 and 19 from being swung beyond dead center positions when the pile driving assembly is being set up for operation, a rest 48 may be provided near the outer end of the boom 9 against which the frame bars 27 of the hanger 19 may bear.

From the foregoing description of the operation of the apparatus, it will be apparent that the folding and unfolding of the pile driver assembly relative to the boom are accomplished automatically upon lowering and raising of the boom and without necessitating the use of a crew of workmen. Folding and unfolding operations can be effected in other ways, however, in which event it may be necessary for the crane operator or another workman to condition the apparatus manually for operation. For example, in lieu of'the cable 21, the hammer line 25 can be disconnected from the hammer and the latter secured at the lower end of the leader 18 in any convenient manner. The now free end of the hammer line then can be passed over the sheave 46 and secured to the anchor post 45, and the winch 26 operated to exert a pull on the lower end of the leader 18 so as to swing the latter clockwise about the axis of the pivot pin 41. The result of this action will be substantially the same as the preceding description of the operation of the apparatus and either simultaneously with or subsequent to the folding of the pile driver assembly the boom 9 may be lowered.

Another alternative would be to connect one end of the cable 21 to the lower end of the leader, as shown, and connect the other end directly to a winch on the platform 5 without passing the cable over the sheave 46. With such a construction the winch could be operated to swing the leader about the pivot 41 to break the parallel disposition of the leader and the hanger, whereupon the pile driver assembly then could be folded with the boom as the latter is lowered.

The disclosed embodiment is representative of a presently preferred form of the invention, but since the apparatus is susceptible of modification, as is indicated above, the disclosed embodiment is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive of the invention. The invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a mobile crane and pile driver construction including a mobile platform, a turntable member on said platform, a boom member having one of its ends mounted on said turntable member for swinging movement between raised and lowered positions, and means connected to said boom member for effecting movements of the latter from and to said positions, the combination of a pile driver assembly foldable with said boom member, said assembly comprising a hanger element; means 5 swingably connecting said hanger element to said boom member adjacent to the other end of the latter so that said boom member may support said hanger element in suspended substantially vertical position; a leader element; means pivotally connecting one end of said leader element to said hanger element so that said leader element may be suspended from said hanger element in substantially vertical position; a strut element; means pivotally connecting one end of said strut element to one of said members; means pivotally connecting the other end of said strut element to said leader element intermediate the ends of the latter and at a point spaced from the connection of said hanger element to said leader element, the arrangement of said elements being such that in pile driving position of said assembly said leader element is suspended from said hanger element and in substantial alignment with the latter; and means connected to said leader element at a point between the other end of the latter and the point of connection to said leader element of said strut element to eifect swinging movement of said leader element about the connection of said strut element to said leader element and thereby efiect relative swinging movement of said hanger element and said leader element in directions to enable said leader element to be folded with said boom member.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 wherein the means connected to said leader element for swinging the latter is connected to said boom member and to said turntable member.

Simonson Dec. 10, 1912 Taylor Mar. 25, 1958 

